Gates of Time, Path of New Chances
by Kiri Kaitou Clover
Summary: Challenge Fic! Rules Inside! Along with potential prologue! So many things went wrong during Evan's time as a Dragon Master, but what if things went differently? What if he went back in time? Had a mentor before things all went wrong? Grew up less naive? Come on in and find out! Inspired by KHR fanfic Changes. Can be treated as a one-shot.


_4 years… _

_Its been 4 years since that fateful day…_

_4 years since that dream, falling down that pit and finding Mir's egg, hatching him, and leaving home on that journey._

_4 years since I was naïve enough as to believe that the Secret Organisation I joined was doing good._

_4 years since I met the Dragon from my dream, Afrien, and found out the unavoidable truth of the results of my actions._

_4 years since I met my fellow Heroes, and realised that even they were not as perfect as the stories described, that they all made mistakes that they had to learn from._

_Prideful and protective Queen of the Elves Mercedes…_

_Overly serious Aran and her Pole-arm partner Maha…_

_The heart-broken aristocrat and Master Thief, the elusive Phantom…_

_And the Mage of Light, now Mage of Light and Dark, Luminous…_

_All of them… Friends, mentors, allies in battle…_

_How could they accept me? I caused them so much trouble, especially Aran. I was just a replacement for the one that should have been there with them, the successor of the one called Freud, the one who made the first Dragon Pact with the King of the Onyx Dragons Afrien. I caused them so much trouble, especially Aran, by being too naïve by believing everything I was told. I shouldn't be with them…_

_Yet, they accepted me as I was, flaws and all… _

_I want to thank them… _

_I want to give my allies a proper fighting chance against the Black Mage…_

_And I know just what to do…_

**Temple of Time, Crack in Time**

Between a pair of hourglass pillars, a portal had formed, waiting for its passengers to enter. In front of the portal, three figures stood. A beautiful lady, in regal clothing and a set of floating gears turning behind her, a young man, of around eighteen years, dressed in a red outfit and a purple and gold headband with wings, symbolising the status of a Dragon Master, and large… dragon? with onyx scales and golden horns.

"Are you sure this is what you wish to do, Evan?" the lady asked quietly, hoping that the once boy would change his mind and turn back.

"I'm sure, Transcendent Rhinne," the man, identified as Evan replied with no hesitation. "The Black Wings are growing more powerful, and as it is, we Heroes don't stand a chance if the Black Mage awakens now."

"But if you continued to train here in this time, you would be able to become stronger…" argued the Transcendent of Time.

"At what cost? The lives of people that the Black Wings might take while we are 'training to become stronger'?" interrupted the dragon, growling out his anger at the thought.

"Mir, calm down," rebuked Evan. Turning to the Transcendent, he whispered sadly, "The fact that the Black Wings are stronger was our fault in the first place, its our responsibility to make things right."

At this, the Transcendent countered angrily,"Even if it was your fault, it doesn't mean you have to go back in time!"

"*Sigh* I'm going back in time and that's final." There was no regret or hesitation when he said that to her.

'_It seems he's not giving up on this. Oh well,_' thought the Transcendent, a sad smile adorning her face.

"Fine. Go through the portal. It's been set to five years prior to today so Mir, you'll have to wait for a while," she said, gesturing to the dragon, who whined sadly at that fact. "You'll merge with your past selves to prevent time paradoxes from occurring. Evan, this means that all the memories that you had here will follow you, but you'll have to train your body to be able to use magic again."

"Snap. That makes things harder. Wait… what about the memories of the others, Transcendent Rhinne?" Evan questioned.

"You'll be carrying their memories along with you. Their first meeting with you would return their memories of the future. In other words, you will be triggering their memories."

"And we are the trigger because?"

"You and Mir are the only one going back in time."

"I see… Guess I won't be able to approach them deliberately unless I meet any of them earlier this time," Evan sighed.

"Know this Evan," the Time Transcendent warned, "Those who were allies previously may get glimpses of the future through their memor…"

"HOLD IT! I thought only the heroes would remember!" Mir growled out his surprise.

"Not exactly Mir. For them, it would take much longer to recall everything from the future," she said, explaining to the young dragon.

"*sigh* Thank you for letting us do this Transcendent Rhinne," the young Dragon Master thanked, turning around with Mir to walk towards the portal.

"Wait!" Transcendent of Time called out,"Evan, I wish both you and Mir good luck, and bring the Maple World to a better future!"

Smiling at the Transcendent's well wishes, Evan shouted out his reply,"Will do!"

At this, he walks to time portal, knowing all the risks he's taking when doing it.

'_I really hope nothing goes wrong…'_ Evan gulps mentally before taking a step into the swirling portal.

**Utah's House, Small Attic i.e. Evan's Room, Five Years Before**

"Mrng... Ow, my head…" Evan grumbled as he opened his eyes and quickly closed it again due to the blinding sun amplifying the headache he was having. Groaning in pain, he sleepily called out,"Mir, get me my medicine pouch will you?"

...

"Mir?"

... *Crickets chirp*

Realising Mir was still silent, Evan decided to opens eyes and look around groggily. Noticing where he was, his eyes flew open, jaws dropping in shock. "My... room..."

"Evan! Are you awake yet? I need you to deliver your father and Utah their lunches!"

'_That was mom! She's alive?!' _Evan mentally questioned himself in shock. However, he unconsciously replied her, the response ingrained in him since he was a child.

"OK mom!"

With that, Evan started to look around his room. Finding a calendar, he looked at the year and his eyes shone with awe and respect for the Transcendent of Time.

"She really sent me back five years..." he whispered quietly to himself.

"Evan!" Another shout from his mom immediately startled him out of his thoughts.

"Coming mom!" With that Evan grins triumphantly, putting down the calendar, knowing that his plan had worked.

_'Yes! I'm in the past!'_

* * *

**This was supposed to a multi-chapter fanfic… that shall never be properly completed by me. **

**I wrote this on a whim last year, when I finished the majority of the Evan questline, but I was never able to move past writing the first chapter! Inspiration for this Time Travel fic actually came from a KHR fanfic called Changes, which sadly, has recently been discontinued by the author. The plot shall ignore Zero Alpha/Beta's storyline since I did this fic before the announcement this year.**

**I'm opening this to all MapleStory fanfic authors as a challenge, with this first chapter as a prologue. Change it however you want but here are some rules: **

**1) Smart!Evan, he has to be considering its his older self. (OR if you make your own prologue, find a way to make him smarter and less naïve!)**

**2) Overprotective of Mir,**

**3) Back to the beginning i.e. the entire fic is about a smarter Evan going through the canon storyline. Note that it doesn't have to be entirely canon. The storyline can be changed to your liking to fit the fact that Evan is a lot smarter.**

**4) The other Heroes HAVE to pop up at some point. (For Evan to give them their memories if you follow this prologue. Otherwise, find someway to drag them in!)**

**5) *Optional* Luminous mentors him in magic, hence Evan + Lania = Friends. (If this is actually done, use the Light Path for Lumi even if he isn't the main character.)**

**6) *Optional* Pairings... are totally up to you!**

**I would write this up on my own, but my writing skills suck. I'm offering anyone who wishes to take this plot as their own to go ahead. The other reason for this is to challenge those of you who write Fanfiction involving Adventurers to have a go at the Heroes side of the MapleStory storyline, and to get more interesting MapleStory fanfics on the site. Have fun toying with the idea!**

**Note: I won't be doing any judging for this fic. Will observe and review if the challenge is taken, but no judging. It will become your fic to toy around with, and I'll have no say in how the plot turns out after this.**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


End file.
